This is number six in a ten-part series on Buddhadharma as a Path of Happiness. This series covers the ten principles discussed in James' Awakening Joy Course from a dharma perspective. www.AwakeningJoy.net

Why would you do a silent meditation retreat? This talk explores the value
and experience of silent retreat practice. Along with James, Kate Janke, who returned from sitting a month at the Forest Refuge in Barre, Massachusetts, a few days before this was recorded, shares her thoughts and personal experience of retreat practice.

I just received teachings with the Dalai Lama last week on the topic,
I'm going to start a series on Shantideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way
of Life. This is one of the Dalai Lama's central teachings. As he says, "If
I have any understanding of compassion and the practice of the bodhisattva path, it is entirely on the basis of this text that I possess it."

This is the second chapter of Shantideva's "Bodhisattva's Way of Life" and discusses the importance of developing an attitude of reverence and devotion as well as purifying our past actions in order to plant the seed of awakening in fertile soil. We’ll be discussing not only the ideas but ways to incorporate them in your dharma practice.

Part 3 of Shantideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life. Commitment. Just what are we committing to when we decide to become bodhisattvas.
One stanza from this chapter is as follows:
“For all those ailing in the world,
Until every sickness has been healed,
May I myself become for them
The doctor nurse, the medicine itself.”